‘Seven Gateways to Eternal Misanthropy’ is the second full length from the Greek Black Metal entity known as Ceremonial Worship. This release is eight tracks of straight forward, no frill Black Metal that maintains a classic, uncomplicated writing style that doesn’t stray from the hate filled composition of previous Ceremonial Worship releases.The brittle guitar tones, cavernous vocals and chaotic drums lend themselves well to a familiar dark and unpolished production. This album is a strong representation of the extremely raw honesty that forms the base for the Black Metal underground. Now, I won’t sit here and say this is the next ‘Nattens Madrigal’ or ‘The Cold Earth Slept Below’, but it does a damn fine job of scratching the same intense, true lo-fi itch.
Within the writing there is an obvious reverence for the foreboding sound of the early Hellenic scene, displayed through a showcase of melancholic riffs and drum heavy grooves that evoke ‘Thy Mighty Contract’ era Rotting Christ. This is especially present in tracks such as ‘Death From Mountain Hills’ or ‘Vanishing Heaven’. In between there are also tracks like ‘Opus Blood’ which follow a more repetitive, primitive charge led by the raspy commanding vocals.
All that being said, there are a few shortcomings. As a whole, the rhythm section throughout the album doesn’t play nice within the rest of the mix. The bass and kick drum are both severely lacking in low end and are often suffocated beneath everything, barely being able to cut through at key moments where they are needed. The drums sit very far forward in the mix on most tracks. This has caused it to occupy a similar space to the guitars, forcing the snare to sort of battle for prominence during the more speed driven sections.
Though the album has its weaknesses, it doesn’t disturb the overall impact of the album. ‘Seven Gateways to Eternal Misanthropy’ takes many lessons from the honest fury of the early scene and fits right in line. So if you’re in the mood for some chaotic Black Metal that just gets straight to the point, I would definitely recommend checking out ‘Seven Gateways to Eternal Misanthropy’ and Ceremonial Worship.
